Lyn Green qualified in counselling and psychotherapy at the British Central School of Counselling and Psychotherapy in 1998 and undertook further training in hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and Mindfulness.

She worked for a number of years in Bath and Bristol and now works in her local community of Melksham. Counsellors are able to help with a wide range of problems and issues.

Lyn has 20 years’ experience working daily with a wide variety of client’s issues and her age and experience of the ups and downs of life are invaluable to help others.

Like many professionals, Lyn continually updates her qualifications and has many areas of expertise, incorporating into her practice whatever works best for the client and is thus person centred and respectful of an individual’s needs.

She favours an eclectic approach using many different tools such as CBT, Mindfulness, clinical hypnotherapy and Transactional Analysis; which are all person centred therapies.

She specialises in drug, alcohol and addictive behaviours. Many types of issues are explored within this area. Her knowledge and practice of a full range of emotions and behaviours are tested and up to date. Specialism in addictions requires a good knowledge of all mental health issues as well as knowledge of the effects of legal and prescribed drugs on the psychology and behaviour of an individual, in addition to the physical harm they produce.

What to expect

Clients meet a professional counsellor in a private and confidential setting in order to explore areas of distress that may be troubling them. In sessions you are given the freedom to talk openly, enabling new insights and understanding to emerge. The counsellor provides an environment in which the client feels respected, listened to, affirmed and accepted. Although it may sometimes be appropriate to offer advice or guidance, the emphasis is very much on enabling you to achieve change rather than telling you what to do.

Counselling varies in length from short or long term depending on the needs and wishes of the client and the depth of issues being considered. People come to counselling with an enormous variety of concerns but some of the issues that are commonly dealt with in counselling are: anxiety, depression, stress, spiritual issues, addiction, abuse, bereavement, divorce, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, panic attacks, work issues and destructive behaviour patterns (eg self-harm, eating disorders and anger management)

Many people have found counselling to be enormously helpful in enabling them to manage these challenges and move forward in whatever way is appropriate for them.

Lyn helps you as an individual and this might include using;

· Cognitive behavioural therapy

· Mindfulness

· Hypnotherapy

· Emotional freedom therapy

· Therapy through art

· Transactional analysis

· Auricular acupuncture

· Mentoring and talking to you

Mindfulness

Mindfulness involves paying more attention to the present moment, using techniques of mind quietening to help alleviate those irritating internal noises and self-criticisms.

By becoming more aware of the stream of thoughts and feelings that we experience we can see how we can often become entangled in ways that are not helpful.

During Mindfulness practice we learn how to control these inner voices and we can train ourselves to notice when our thoughts are taking over and pause in order to let go of issues and prevent them from controlling us.

Awareness of this kind also helps us notice signs of stress or anxiety earlier and helps us deal with them better.

Studies have found that mindfulness programmes, where participants are taught mindfulness practices across a series of weeks, can bring about reductions in stress and improvements in mood.

The process is often used alongside other treatments such as counselling for anxiety.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a structured therapy which can help you work through a process of small changes in the way you experience your world. This is helpful in making the bigger and longer term changes in behaviours and in the way you think.

It is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle.

CBT aims to help you crack this cycle by breaking down overwhelming problems into smaller parts and showing you how to change these negative patterns to improve the way you feel.

Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT deals with your current problems, rather than focusing on issues from your past. It looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis.

CBT is useful for reinforcing behavioural changes of any kind but is often used for obsessive compulsive thoughts and behaviours, phobias, anger, anxiety, depression, addictions and relationship issues.

Emotional Freedom Therapy (EFT)

EFT is also known as Tapping.

This therapy has associations with acupuncture, yet it uses no needles and is non-invasive.

The tapping can be carried out by the client in the clinic or it can be self-administered at home.

EFT is used as an aid to counselling and hypnotherapy and is conducive to most issues including physical issues and pain alleviation.

EFT works by stimulating the nervous system into response. Outstanding results can be achieved from general relaxation and motivation to pain relief, addictions and abuse.

Clinical Hypnotherapy.

Clinical hypnotherapy is another tool therapists use to stimulate motivation for change. It can help shift phobias and anxieties and is used alongside counselling to assist in improving the wellbeing of the client.

Clinical hypnotherapy is not a quick fix as issues are often deep rooted and the mind needs time to find healing, although it is useful in helping to quickly diagnose issues.

Hypnotherapy must be used skilfully and by qualified professionals in order to find a long term solution. Lyn has the skills and experience required to deal with issues that arise during hypnosis.

Hypnotherapy can also be taught to the client and used for relaxation purposes.

Transactional Analysis

A therapy wherein people are taught to recognise their subconscious reactions, that are related to their ego state, during their interactions with others.

Often people get 'stuck' in the way they respond to others due to events in the past and the emotions of past traumas are subconciously revisited during interactions in the present. Clients are taught to alter their ego state in order to solve these emotional problems and inappropriate responses.

Therapy through Art

Art can be a wonderful way to explore issues that may otherwise be difficult for the client to come to terms with or express. These may be issues such as sexual or physical abuse, anger issues, depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Art can be helpful within hypnotherapy and counselling as an additional tool as it can promote a clearer focus of thoughts and emotions, for example, with colour therapy. It is also a great way to relax.

Auricular Acupuncture

Auricular acupuncture is used within addiction therapy to help alleviate cravings.

It involves using specific acupuncture pressure points on the ears.

Mentoring

Lyn offers mentoring for student counselling as part of their study requirements. Student rates are £45 per hour.

Lyn also offers CPD courses for professionals seeking further training or understanding.